Your News Tribune is about to get a face-lift.

We’re not completely redesigning the newspaper, but beginning Tuesday you’ll notice some changes, especially on the front page.

We’re doing it for a couple of reasons. First, the paper needs an update. The front page will be more colorful, the headlines bolder, and it will stand out better in newsstand boxes next to other papers. We like that.

Second, we’re trying to make better use of the space on our news pages.

It’s no secret that our business, alongside so many others, is navigating through some tough times. The News Tribune is in not only the newspaper business, but it’s also in the auto sales business and the real estate business and the retail business in that we serve as an advertising vehicle for all of them. As they struggle, they spend less on advertising, which results in fewer pages in the newspaper.

Rather than slash the amount of news we bring you each day, we’ve changed our style to allow for more stories on each page. You’ll notice more headlines, especially on the section fronts, and less white space than you’re used to.

The front page will have a rail down the left side filled with short stories and summaries of articles inside the paper, along with the weather forecast and a photo or two.

David Montesino, our assistant managing editor for visuals, created the design. He says the front page will serve as a one-page roundup of all the day’s news. You’ll see similar rails on other section fronts.

We’re also changing our sectioning a bit. Monday through Saturday, we’ll give you a single news section that contains local news, our national and international report, business news, the opinion pages and obituaries. It’s the same format we currently use on Mondays, something readers have told us they like. On Sunday, we’ll publish the same five sections we do now.

We’re tightening up our stocks listings and daily TV listings, and eliminating the hour-by-hour section of our weather report that readers weren’t fond of. There’ll be no business page on Monday, in part because little business news happens over the weekend. Our Pet Vet column and other pet features move from Tuesday to Sunday.

Aside from a new rail on the cover for scores and game times, our award-winning sports section remains as it is.

And we’re adding some things:

 • Our local columnists will appear frequently on the bottom of the front page. We hated to bury some of our most popular voices inside the expanded news section, so you’ll see Peter Callaghan, Kathleen Merryman and Dan Voelpel out front once a week or so.

 • We’ll run the cartoon “Cornered” on the cover of SoundLife Monday through Saturday. We like its off-kilter sense of humor and figure we all could use a little levity these days.

 • Popular gardening expert Marianne Binetti will write a column for our Saturday Home&Garden section.

 • “The Bookmonger,” Barbara Lloyd McMichael, will review local books of interest on our Sunday Books page.

 • Our Sunday Travel page will feature local trips twice a month.

 • Tuesday through Saturday, the cartoons and puzzles will run on a single- page section front where they’ll be easier to find. And we’re printing them on slightly heavier paper that we think puzzle-doers will like.

You also should know that the important things aren’t changing. We remain your news source for the South Sound, committed to watching over those in power and bringing you the information you need to live life here to the fullest.

We haven’t reduced the local news reporting staff, and we’re not shrinking the space we devote to local news.

Change is never easy, but we believe these changes will result in a better paper. We ask you to give it a try.

Karen Peterson: 253-597-8434

karen.peterson@thenewstribune.com

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